Too Many Things Were Left Unsaid
by Clazzie
Summary: Spoilers for BOTFA. Tauriel saves Kili's life and lives to see him become king under the mountain. She is left behind as an ambassador to the dwarves and the two of them get to know each other more and more.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I don't know if I'll continue this or not, but here is a little Kiliel that I wrote.

The stars hung over Erebor like diamonds on a string at this time of night. Tauriel stood on the battlements, staring out over the empty plains and the broken city of Dale. Even after six weeks of being the elvish ambassador to the dwarves she still had not gotten used to being underground so much, and this is how she got around it. She had requested an audience with king Kili (it still felt so weird for her to call him that) and asked whether or not she would be allowed to help with the guarding of the battlements. It was no surprise to her that he had said yes, but there were conditions. She sighed again, only once a week was she allowed out on the battlements for several hours at a time, the dwarven community still did not trust her, even after she had saved the life of their king, and Kili- His Highness had to appease them more than he had to appease her.

That was the reason why she found herself, on the most deserted side of the battlements, watching over a ruined city, while a party went on inside. The dwarves from the iron hills were leaving the next day and so a farewell feast was being thrown for them. She was glad that she was not attending (or so she tried to convince herself). She still felt like a fish out of water or more, an elf in a sea of dwarves. She turned her attention back to the plains.

A while later she heard the scuff of a boot behind her.

"Don't tell me it's the end of my watch already?" She asked never taking her eyes off the plains. Instead of an answer she felt a pair of short arms encircle her waist.

"It's the end of your watch if I say it's the end."

"And you do?"

"I do." Tauriel smiled and turned her head, though she already knew who the arms belonged to.

"Shouldn't you be entertaining Dain?" She asked.

"Nay, he and his men are all so drunk that I doubt they will remember what they are saying even ten minutes from now." Kili couldn't help but smile at seeing her. Even though he saw her every day. Her red hair was illuminated by the stars that hung behind her, and though he already knew she was beautiful, for a moment, his breath was taken away by just how beautiful she was. She twisted around in his arms and looked down at him.

"I want to show you something…" Tauriel tilted her head.

"Oh? What about the guards left on duty, they already don't trust me, and me leaving early will just make it worse."

"Don't worry about them, I've already told the people who need to know that I have pulled you aside for 'diplomatic negotiations'. " Tauriel raised her eyebrow at this, but did not complain. As much as she enjoyed being outside underneath the stars, it was getting cold, and unlike the dwarves, she did not have thick furs swaddling every inch of her skin.

"Well, as long as they know that I am leaving, I would be happy to accompany you." Kili loosened his arms from around her waist and then proceeded to move in another direction.

"Follow me…" He whispered, and she couldn't help but follow.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: So I decided that I would continue this, so please R & R and tell me what you think :)**

As much as Tauriel had come to know the halls of Erebor over the past few weeks, where Kili was taking her was an utter mystery. They had left the more inhabited parts of the mountain behind them and now they were in corridors that were still covered in thick layers of dust. Tauriel bit back a sneeze as Kili accidently stirred up a large cloud of dust.

"Do you know where we are going?" She asked him, once the urge to sneeze left her.

"Vaugely…" He replied, looking around the doorways. "Bofur told me about this room he thought that you would like, and how to get there. Only problem is, I don't think he remembered that a lot of the corridors had been destroyed by a dragon." Kili sighed, looking around the corridor once again. He looked disappointed, like he had really wanted to show Tauriel, whatever it was that he wanted to show her.

"Did he draw you a map? I have always been really good at following a map, even when known paths are destroyed." Tauriel asked. Silently Kili held out the piece of paper that had been crumpled in his hand. A bright red X had been drawn on the old parchment, obviously marking where their destination was, though there was no name to the room marked on the map. Tauriel held it up in front of her and then looked around the room, trying to get her bearings when suddenly, the map made perfect sense.

"Killi…" She began hesitantly.

"Yes?" He replied morosely.

"Did you realise you were reading the map upside down?"

"What, no, it was the right way up, I swear." Somehow he didn't seem to believe her that she was right about said map.

"We need to be heading up, not down in to the depths of the mountain." She gave him a soft smile as he put his head in his hands.

"Are you really serious?" He couldn't help but ask.

"I am, now follow me." Tauriel twisted on her heel and began to head up a stair case that was to their left.

Kili followed Tauriel as they doubled back, eventually they reached the inhabited levels where sounds of the party entered their ears but Kili was not even slightly tempted. While he was embarrassed that he had taken her on a wild goose chase (who was he kidding, he wanted to crawl into a hole and die) he was glad of the time he got to spend with her, and was still spending with her. He couldn't help looking at her, she was so different to all of the Dwarven ladies that he had met and far more beautiful than any of them. He hurried on his short legs to catch up to her again, he knew that she was trying to walk slower than she normally would but still she could walk far ahead of him in a second flat.

"Do you think we're closer to the place than we were before?" He asked her. He knew it was a pathetic attempt at starting a conversation but around her, silence was deafening.

"Yes Kili, we are definitely closer, in fact-" She stopped so suddenly that he nearly ran into her. "We are here." She smiled down at him and her smile was so infectious that he could not help grinning back at her.

"Well then, if you do not have the key I would suggest that you step aside." Tauriel moved aside without complaint and watched as Kili pulled out an old rusted key. "Shut your eyes please" he quietly ordered, and Tauriel obeyed. Kili took a deep breath and then gently took her had in his and led her through the door, occasionally looking up at her eyes to see that they were still shut. Once they were through the doorway he shut the door behind and them and then led her to the center of the room where there was a padded bench. He sat down with her on it then removed his hand from hers.

"Open your eyes and look up Tauriel". She did and Kili was stunned by the gasp that came out of her mouth. The room which surrounded them was pitch black, so black it seemed endless and on the roof meters and meters above glittered tiny, illuminated diamonds. They continued down the walls, fading into the inky blackness until, right at the bottom, it seemed as if the walls would never end.

Kili was enraptured by Tauriels face, he could not take his eyes off the beauty that stood in front of him for more than a moment and the longer he looked at her the more he craved her.

"This is beyond words" Tauriel breathed "Kili-" He did not give her a chance to finish.

"Tauriel, the beauty of this room cannot compare with the beauty that is contained within" he said unabashedly, staring straight into his eyes. He grabbed her hand and brushed his thumbs over her knuckles. For Tauriel it was too much and she had to look away.

"What is it? What troubles you?"

"Being here, you- all of this" Tauriel didn't know what to say, and she was lucky, because Kili decided not to press the issue. Instead, he simply held her hands to his lips and listened as she explained how torn she was feeling by being the only elf in a city of dwarves. Eventually she stopped talking and just sat there, looking up at the diamond sky until Kili called her back to reality.

"You are not alone Tauriel, and forgive me for ever letting you feel as such. You will never be alone with me around." Tauriel didn't speak, she just nodded her head. "Come on, we need to leave now." And so they both stood and Kili directed them to where the door was hidden amongst the stars.

"Now we go back to reality and our duties." Tauriel laughed, and Kili could not help laughing along with her.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Big update today, I know, however I have a confession, I am going to a leadership retreat for 8 days and won't be able to update until after then, I will attempt to work on the next chapter while I'm there but I can't promise anything. However, I hope this makes up for any ****inconveniences****. See you potentially next Sunday.**

Kili was learning to hate diplomatic meetings with a passion. Every day was just another round of talks with people that he had no wish to speak to. He wanted to get out of the dark halls and into the fresh air, which was totally wrong for a dwarf, especially the king of Erebor. All around him were representatives of the dwarves, those from the Iron Hills, The Blue Mountains and the dwarves of Moria. However it wasn't just a dwarf meeting, there were representatives of men (mainly those who had gone back to Laketown and Bard, King of Dale) and of course, there was the elvish ambassador Tauriel. Kili let out a little smile even thinking about her. He was jerked back to reality when he heard Bard ask him a question.

"Have you decided yet, how much will be paid in recompense for the damages wrought by the dragon Smaug?" Bard was watching him closely, and Kili noticed that he wasn't the only one, all of the dwarves were staring at him distrustfully. In particular, Dain was staring Kili. He had made it quite clear from the beginning that he felt that giving the men and elves anything of the wealth of Erebor would be a very bad idea. Kili, felt the total opposite.

"You ask a good question Bard, and I have given it deep thought." The dwarves and men alike raised their heads even more, trying to suss out what the new king was going to say. "To the men of the city of dale, I will give six thousand gold coins and one chest of diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and anything else you would desire. To the men of Laketown, you will be given five hundred gold coins and a small chest of diamonds." The master of laketown looked mortified with this.

"But you would give Dale more than laketown and laketown was destroyed by your foolishness." He placed particular emphasis on the word your, and Kili had to fight an urge to roll his eyes. He braced himself for the argument that was inevitably going to follow as soon as he replied.

"Laketown, as I have seen firsthand, has more than enough wealth, what I am offering you is enough to rebuild and to say thank you for the help that the town offered in the death of Smaug."

"You insult us by what you offer us, were it not for us Smaug would still be terrorising the people of laketown." Kili raised his eyebrows at this statement.

"Master of Laketown, I understand the destruction that was wrought by Smaug has been quite severe, but you must understand, that it was not Laketown that brought the dragon down. It was Bard. If you had have had your way, Bard would still have been locked in a prison and the dragon would be terrorising all of your population." Kili found great pleasure looking at the face of the master. For several minutes the master sputtered and stuttered and turned as red as a tomato.

"You- you dare insult me by saying I had no part in this." Kili had to force himself not to roll his eyes.

"Are you going to take what we offer you, or are you going to leave it?" The master turned to his advisor for a moment.

"We will take what you offer, but we will not forget this insult." Kili nodded to one of the dwarves who stood near him and the dwarf came up to the throne.

"Go and collect their chest, don't take them with you, they will be waiting at the gate." Kili said just to the dwarf, then the dwarf rushed off to go and collect the treasure. Turning to the guards who were surrounding the platform on which his throne stood, he said;

"Escort the master and his associates to the gate, wait there with them until they have their recompense." Two of the guards followed his orders and as soon as the master of laketown and his advisor were out of the throne room everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, back to what I was saying."

Two hours later the throne room was finally empty and Kili breathed a massive sigh of relief.

"That looked like you were having fun." Came the sarcastic voice from the shadows.

"You looked like you were enjoying the show, come into the light." Tauriel walked out of the shadows with a large smile on her face.

"I could not help my enjoyment. You did very well, you will make a wonderful king." She walked towards the throne and dipped into a low curtsey. Kili turned to the two guards next to his throne.

"Leave us, no one is allowed in until I tell you." Immediately the guards left and as soon as the doors clanged shut Tauriel stood and walked to the throne.

"How is the leg my king?"

"You need not call me your king. You aren't even a dwarf." Kili looked up at her.

"You are a king are you not?" Tauriel looked down at him, even a step below him on the throne dais, she was still more than a head taller than him.

"To you I am not a king, I am simply Kili." He took one of her hands in his. "I don't want you to treat me any differently simply because I was the one who survived the quest." Tauriel smiled a soft smile at him.

"You never answered my question." She smiled even more and pointedly raised her eyebrow.

"It is much better, but any strenuous exercise still causes it grief. In time the pain will pass, or I will learn to deal with it. Have you heard anything from the elves about my offer?" Tauriel knelt down.

"There has been no response yet, though I would think, that the raven would not have had time yet to make it to the woodland realm." Kili nodded thoughtfully.

"And how are you?" Kili asked Tauriel in reference to their conversation in the room of stars several days ago.

"I am coping, it is taking time to get used to being the tallest in the room, but there are those of men around who help with the whole height complex." She threw a soft smile at this. "But I miss the company of my own kind, I miss the trees and the forest, by the Valar, I even miss the spiders." She shut her eyes quickly and lowered her head until it was almost level with the armrest of the throne. Softly, Kili let go of her hands and placed one of his hands under her chin as he slowly got out of the throne. It was obvious that his leg was still bothering as much as he was trying to hide it.

"Well, if it is any consolation, we will have to deliver the payment that we are offering your king at some point soon, and it is my plan that I will deliver it in person. That being said, I would assume that the elven representative would travel alongside me." Kili raised a questioning eyebrow at Tauriel.

"I would be honoured to travel alongside you, someone has to keep you alive." She raised her eyes and met his. Kili could not help the smile that grew on his face at this.

"Hopefully, I shall never have to repay that favour." Kili replied without thinking.

"I hope so too." Kili could not help but to stare in Tauriel's eyes. To him they were endless, beauty shrouded in her.

"I understood what you meant about starlight being memory last night" he said suddenly. Tauriel looked at confused, and waited for him to continue. "I was thinking about that evening in the room of stars, and all I can remember is you and I know what you meant now, because those stars will always hold the memories of you. Every time I see stars now all I think of is you and-" He was cut off as Tauriel pressed her lips against his. It was a chaste kiss, short and sweet, but it left both Kili and Tauriel breathless. Killi raised his eyebrow at Tauriel.

"I was waiting for you to do that" he said breathed as he wrapped his arms around her neck. Tauriel did not reply for a while, and when she did she didn't speak about the kiss.

"Your description of the memory of starlight was beautiful." Tauriel looked up at Kili. The way that Kili was standing and Tauriel was kneeling meant that she was now a couple of centimetres shorter than him. Kili dropped his head enough that their foreheads touched and then finally spoke.

"Starlight to me, is not just memory." Kilis face was so close to Tauriels' that she could feel the stubble of his chin brushing against her cheeks as he spoke. "It's you." There was only a millimetre of space between their lips now. Even though they had kissed not even two minutes ago, Tauriel was still nervous. Her eyes flicked between his lips and his eyes as leant fractionally closer. "I am in love with you, and I know that love between us will never be accepted by anyone but ourselves, and that I'll probably get kicked off the throne, and I don't care. I am so in love with you."

Later on, Tauriel wasn't sure who had finally closed the distance between their lips, but she knew that the sparks that flew had electrified her, and most likely Kili as well. They had spent a while wrapped in each other's embrace until Kili had had to leave to go to a meeting of the Dwarven leaders. Still, she could not stop thinking about that kiss, and how much it meant to her.


End file.
